(Former Home of Jorge Biassou)

Here on this site, 42 St. George Street, stood the home of the nation's first Black general, Jorge Biassou, who came to St. Augustine from his native St. Domingue (today the nation of Haiti) in 1796 as an officer of the Spanish militia.

General Biassou was one of the original leaders of the 1791 slave uprising in Haiti. For his service to the Spanish against the French he became a Spanish general, and came to St. Augustine with an entourage and staff of 26 fellow revolutionaries, as Florida's second highest-paid official. Although living at his home here in the center of the city, Biassou owned a large tract of land north of the town.

In St. Augustine, Biassou was placed in command of the free Black militia that guarded the southern approach to the city at Fort Matanzas. Today Fort Matanzas is a National Monument and part of the National Park Service.

General Biassou died in 1801 and was buried in Tolomato Cemetery on Cordova Street following his funeral held in St. Augustine's Catholic Cathedral Basilica.

Many delegations, including members of Haiti's international diplomatic corps and members of the Haitian Historical Society, have all made pilgrimages to St. Augustine to visit sites associated with our first Black general, Jorge Biassou.

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Show me all markers in:  St Augustine, FL  |  St Johns County  |  32084  |  Florida  |  United States of America

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